Hydraulic crane structure



July 1, 1952 w. G. FRENZEL 2,601,927

HYDRAULIC CRANE STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 7, 1950 2 SHEETS-SPEET l IN VEN TOR.

flak 96/120 July 1, 1952 w. G. FRENZEL HYDRAULIC CRANE STRUCTURE Filed Aug. '7, 1950 INVENTOR. W/ZZar fieflze/ BY v W 1' ATTORNEY Patented July 1, 1952 UNITED f STATES TENT OFFICE This invention relates to aicrane and more particularly to a crane of the type carried by a truck.

The primary object of the invention is to facilitate the loading and unloading of articles relative to a truck bed or the like.

Another object is to maintain accurate control of a load during the loading or unloading thereof and to assure precision placement or deposit of the load.

A still further object is to enable the operator to control the movements of the crane boom without dismounting from his station in the cab of the truck.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features an extensible and contractable boom mounted ona truck bedfor vmovement about a vertical axis and movement vertically above the truck bed about a horizontal axis, extensible and contractible guy members mounted on the truck bed on opposite sides of the boom and remote from the connection of the boom with the. truck bed ,for movement, about"'spaced vertical axes andQmQVement about horizontal 3 Claims. (Cl. 212-35)" post l6. Pivotally mounted on the cap i8 as at 2%! for movement about a horizontal axis is one end of an extensible and contractible boom designated generally 22'which carries at its end remote from the pivot 20; a sheave 24 over which a load suspending cable 26 is trained' The cable axes above the truck bed'and pivotally connected .to the boom remote from its mounting on the truck-bed so that by extending or contracting the guy members, the boom may be made to swing horizontally or vertically according to the desires of the operator.

Other features include remote control means located within the cab for regulating the extension, or contraction of the boom and the guy members and means carried by the boom remote from its pivotal connection for suspending a load therefrom.

In the drawings: e.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side View of a truck equipped with a crane embodying the features of this invention, b

Figure 2 is a top'plan view of Figure 11, Figure 3 is a rear end view of the truck illustrated in Figure 1, 1

Figure 4 is an enlarged detailed sectional view through the swivel connection of an extensible guy member with'the bed of the truck,

Figure 5 is Y a fragmentary sectional view through the extensible boom, and

Figure 61s an enlarged detailed view through the swivel connection of the boom with its supporting post. e

Referring to the drawings in detail a truck it is conventionally equipped with a cab 12 and a platform orbed l4 upon whichthe load to be carried by the truck'is deposited;

Mounted on the'bed Hi adjacent the cab 12 is a post 16 which extends vertically from the bed and carries at its upper en'da cap is which is mounted to rotate about thevertical @3 5 1 @1 6 26 is wound upona'winch 28 which is carried by the bed i l below the top thereof and near the post it, so that when the winch is turned, the cable zfi may be moved over the sheave 24 to raise or lower a load suspended on a hook 39 carried by the cable. 7 I

Fixed to the bed 14 adjacent the end thereof remote from the. post l6 and adjacent opposite side edges of the bed l4 arev swivel'couplings designated generally 32 and 34 to each of which is coupled respectively formovement about horizontal axes extensible guy members designated generally 36 and 38 respectively. The guy member 36 moves about ',a vertical axis adjacent one side of the bed- Mia'nd also about a horizontal axis above the bed" [4 while the guy member 38 moves about a vertical axis adjacent the opposite side, of the bed [4- and also about a horizontal axis above said bed. .Ihev ends of the guy members 35 and 38 remote from, their swivel connections 32 and 33 are connected'respectively by pivots ii) and 42 to arms Mand 46 which are pivotally connected by apivot 48 .to the end of the boom 22 remote-from its pivotal connection 20 with the cap Hi. It will .thus be seen that as the boom and the guy members are contracted, the boom will move in an arcabove the platform or bed i l, or when one of the guy members 35 or 38 is contracted and the otherextended, the boom will move about the vertical axis of the post 16. As a consequence the loadsupporting hook 36 may be accuratelymoved to engage a i The boom 22 as well as the guy members 35 and 38 each comprise an hydraulic cylinder 50 containing a longitudinally moveable piston 52 which is connected to a piston rod 54 which extends through one end of, the pistonEU. Each cylinder 55) is provided at its end remote from that through which the piston rod 54 extends with an attaching ear 56 by which it may be connected with its respective supporting member.

Formed in the cylinder 50 adjacent'opposite ends thereof are ports 58 and Jill respectively which are designed to admit or withdraw hy draulic fluid from behind the'piston 52 so as tocauseit to move and advance or'retract the'p iston' rod 54. In this way the-members 22,36and 38 are rendered extensible, Co'upledto the port 58 of the boom 22 is a conduit 62 which leads to a suitable control valve 64 located within'the cab 12 by which hydraulic fluid may be introduced or withdrawn relative to the cylinder 56- of the boom 22. A similar conduit 66 is connected to the port 66 of the boom 22 and to the control valve 64 so that upon moving the valve to introduce fluid through the conduit 66 and port 66 into the cylinder 56 of the boom 22, the boom will contract, whereas it may be extended by introducing fluid through the conduit 62 and port 58 into its cylinder 50, it being understood that the opposite ports are coupled to a port in the control valve 64 which will permit the fluid to be withdrawn from the cylinder 56. Suitable conduits 68 and 16 are coupled to the ports 58 and 66 of the cylinder 56 of the guy member 36 and similar conduits 12 and -14 are connected to the ports 58 and 66 respectively of the cyl- .inder 56 of the extensible guy member 38 and to the valve 64 previously referred to. It will thus be seen that by manipulating the valve 64 the extension and contraction .of the boom 22 and the guy members 36 and 38 may be accurately controlled so as to cause the boom 22 to move about the vertical axis of the post l6 or its horizontal pivot 26 to engage and transfer a load to or from the bed or platform 14 of the truck I 6.

In order to satisfactorily couple the extensible guy members 36 and 38 to the bed or platform 14 I provide a cup 16 beneath the lower end of each extensible member 36 and 38 in which is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis a trunnion 18 carrying on its upper end a pair of spaced parallel cars 86 which are pierced with aligning openings to receive a pivot pin 82 by which the ear 56 of the cylinder 56 of the respective extensible guy member 36 or 38 is pivotally connected to its respective connector 32 or 34.

In use it will be understood that the truck i6 is maneuvered into the desired loading or unloading position whereupon the valve 64 is manipulated to supply hydraulic fluid to the cylinders 56 so as to cause the boom 22 and guy members 36 or 38 to extend or contract and bring the hook 36 into the desired position to engage the load. By further manipulation of the valve 64, the boom 22 may be extended or retracted along with the guy members 36 and 38 to place the load in the desired position. Obviously if the guy member 38 is extended, and the guy member 36 is contracted and the boom permitted to contract, it may be swung laterally in a clockwise direction when viewed as in Figure 2. Likewise upon contraction of the boom 22 and contraction of the guy members 36 and 38, the boom may be made to move about the axis of its pivot 26 so as to elevate the load and upon, turning of the winch 28, the load may be deposited in the desired position on the bed I 4. By being able to extend or contract the boom and extend or contract the guy members 36 and 38, it is obvious that'the end of the boom remote from the post l6 may be maneuvered into various positions thusenabling the operator to control the loading and unloading operating with precision without dismounting from his station in the cab I 2; 7 I

While'in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred form of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to with out departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. In a crane, an elongated rectangular bed,

a vertical post rising from the center of the forward end of the bed, an extensible and contractible boom mounted on the top end of the post for movement about the axis thereof, said boom also being movable about a horizontal axis, extensible and contractible guy members swivelly supported at one of their ends on the bed in transversely spaced relation adjacent the rear end thereof, said guy members being movable about horizontal axes and having their outer ends pivotally connected to the outer end of the boom remote from the post, load supporting means supported from the outer end of the boom, and power means for selectively controlling the extension and contraction of the boom and said guy members.

'2. In a crane, an elongated rectangular bed, a vertical post rising from the center of the forward end of the bed, an hydraulically actuated extensible and contractible boom mounted at one end on the top end of the post for movement about the axis thereof, said boom also being movable about a horizontal axis, hydraulically actuated extensible and contract'ible guy members swivelly mounted at one of their ends on the bed adjacent the rear end thereof and to either side of the boom, said guy members being movable about horizontal axes and having their other ends pivotally connected to the other end of the boom, load supporting means dependingly supported from the outer 'end of the boom, and means connected to the boom and to the guy members for selectively supplying hydraulic fluid to or withdraw it from said boom and said guy members to afiect the extension or contraction thereof.

3. In a crane equipped truck having a cab and an elongated rectangular bed extending rearwardly therefrom, a post rising from the bed adjacent the rear center of the cab, an hydraulically actuated extensible and contractible boom, means mounted on the top end of the post for supporting the boom at one end for both lateral and vertical swinging movements, hydraulically actuated extensible and contractible guy members mounted at one of their ends on the bed adjacent the rear end thereof and to either side of the boom for like swinging movements with the latter, means pivotally connecting the guy members to the other endof the boom, a sheave carried at the other end of the boom remote from the post, a winch carried by and below the bed, a load supporting cable wound on the winch and trained over'the sheave, and hydraulic control means within the cab and connected to .the boom and to the guy members for selectively supplying hydraulic fluid to or withdraw it from said boom and guy members to afiect the extension or contraction thereof.

WILBUR G. FRENZEL.

REFERENCES .clren The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 1,311,469 Smith July 29, 1919 1,690,372 Livesay Nov. 6, 1928 1,885,937 McWilliams Nov. 1, 1932 2,361,555 Mantyla Nov. 10, 1942 2,475,963 Howell July 12, 1949 2,482,365 Pokomy i Sept. 20, 1949 2,537,755 Harbaugh Jan. 9, 1951 

